Japan, South Korea raise concerns about India’s steel import restrictions

Japan and South Korea have expressed concerns about delays in customs clearance for shipments to India due to “regulatory issues”. Speaking at Bharat Steel’s interactive session with ambassadors, country representatives said India’s quality control orders, safeguard duties and other import restrictions are hindering prospects.

Indian government representatives said there was no country-specific bias and that shipments with inadequate documentation were discouraged.

“While Korean companies generally have a smooth run in India, they do face some regulatory hurdles from time to time,” a South Korean representative said during the interaction.

Expressing concern about India’s quality control orders for intermediate steel products, a country representative said, “Japanese companies are quite active in India, but they are also facing some problems.”

Responding to these concerns from the sidelines, officials said India had already removed quality control hurdles. “Only shipments that do not have sufficient traceability are stopped for inspection,” a senior official said, reiterating that there is no country-specific bias in India’s regulatory regimes.

With the increase in capital expenditures of state-owned enterprises, domestic steel production capacity is expected to increase in the next fiscal year. Budget documents show that capital expenditure (capex) of steel public sector undertakings will increase by around 44% annually to Rs 25.125 billion in fiscal 2026-27. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) are leading this pack with a 50% increase in capex financed through Internal and Extra-Budgetary Resources (IEBR).
India’s steel production capacity currently stands at 218 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), increasing by 18 mtpa in the current fiscal. The country aims to have an installed steel production capacity of 300 mtpa in 2031.